Online bus ticketing platform, redBus, has launched a new service – Bus Hire – to provide customers seeking to hire buses, mini-buses or tempo-travellers, with a one-stop access to chartered bus providers in a particular city. The platform gives all-inclusive prices along with value added information such as bus photos and convenient payment options. This service is presently available in seven cities across India – Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Ahmedabad and is soon being extended to other towns. The range of vehicles includes luxury buses, regular buses, mini buses, tempo travellers and cars.

Prakash Sangam, CEO, redBus, said, “Often group travel such as corporate outings, weddings and pilgrimages require a full vehicle to be hired. There was no easy way for travellers to connect with multiple vehicle providers to hire a bus of their choice. With our new Bus Hire product, we aim to simplify the process by providing customers with a customised, transparent and quick method of evaluating and choosing among different vehicle options. For charter bus operators, it opens up another avenue for attracting customers and growing their business.”

Once a customer provides basic details of the desired trip, the bus operators on Bus Hire platform respond with quotations. The base fare, driver charges, tolls, permit fees and taxes are all specified in the quotations. Customers can pay for the bus online in two tranches with an option to pay 25 per cent upfront to confirm the booking and the balance amount a few days before the start of their journey.